OYAK RENAULT

Despite an annual decline in revenues, the automotive industry once again topped the list of Türkiye's largest exporting sectors with shipments to foreign markets amounting to $2.6 billion in June.

The automotive sector's exports, which plunged 12.4 percent last month from a year ago, accounted for 14.1 percent of the country's export revenues.

The Turkish auto industry produced more than 133,000 vehicles in February, marking a strong 19.2 percent increase from a year ago, after output declined by 3 percent in the previous month.

Local carmakers' production increased by 48 percent in July year-on-year to 135,400, according to data from the Automotive Manufacturers' Association (OSD).

Last month, more than 88,000 passenger cars were manufactured, pointing to a 74 percent increase from a year earlier, while the commercial vehicle production rose by 16.7 percent to 47,200.

Renault Group, which has been operating in Turkey since 1968, has decided to establish a new company to enhance its investments in the country, according to a company statement released on Dec. 1.

Hakan Doğu, who is a member of Renault Group Corporate Management Committee, will lead Renault Group Otomotiv A.Ş. as the CEO, according to the statement.

Accounting for half of the top 10 companies, automotive firms have dominated Turkey's list of largest exporters, the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) announced on Sept. 18.

Ford was named Turkey's largest exporter in 2020, followed by Toyota Engine Manufacturing Turkey and Oyak Renault.

Turkey will take new steps to help the country's exporters, including removing the requirement for security deposits,
restructuring Turkish Eximbank, and establishing a new fair center, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Sept. 18.

Refinery giant Tüpraş retained its longtime leadership as Turkey's biggest industrial enterprise with production-based sales worth 58.6 billion Turkish Liras ($8.4 billion), the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (İSO) said on May 26. 

Automotive production in many Turkish factories has not been suspended so far despite the measures taken by the authorities to fend off coronavirus pandemic risks, representative of automakers said on March 18.